


Your Eyes Are Open, So Never Close Them

by orphan_account



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst and eventual comfort, I am so sorry, Resurrection, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings, can you tell im a phil apologist, canon-divergent, no beta we die like wilbur on november 16th, once again probably a fix it fic eventually, sleepy bois inc - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:41:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28689591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: And if you're broken,You'll make your own thing.In the aftermath of a failed resurrection, Phil says nothing. In the midst of the violent storm which follows, Techno finds out otherwise.Title from Next Up Forever by AJR
Relationships: ALL PLATONIC, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade
Comments: 1
Kudos: 54





	Your Eyes Are Open, So Never Close Them

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, speedran and written at 1 am. Enjoy the angst :) definitely will be a second part, hopefully up tomorrow, im tired lol

Phil had said little as he left the cottage that morning, sword fastened at his hip and a totem that he thought Techno couldn't see hidden in his coat. 

Techno'd had his own suspicions of what his father was up to it, and had spent the fitful night before debating if he should stop him. While the man piled potions and relics into a bag, Techno fiddled with the emerald which forever hung from his ear. That morning, he had watched as the glint of Phil's own emerald grew harder and harder to see, the man soon hidden by the falling snow.

_He would be fine._

Phil was a nearly unbeatable warrior.

_He would be fine._

He had Ranboo with him.

_He would be fine._

No one in the SMP would risk incurring Techno's wrath by hurting him.

Two figures approaching over the horizon had been a solace to his worries. Countless hours had passed, day now rapidly bleeding into night, and with mob spawns so high in the tundra he'd begun to worry that something had stopped them. As their forms quickly grew bigger, the firm grip he'd held on his sword loosened the slightest bit.

Maybe he'd been naïve to think the universe was capable of being that kind to him. 

A pit of worry formed in his stomach just as fast as it had disappeared. Phil's wings were drooped and messy, feathers in a disarray that didn't quite scream hurt but said that _something_ had happened. Ranboo, usually one to follow behind the older man, was leading their way, discolored eyes glowing as he cut down mobs. Instead of being drawn to the missing figure of his lost brother, his focus was pinned to the entirely unrecognizable expression on his father's face. 

For a man known by most for his joviality, Phil looked broken. There was no fan-fair when the two returned. 

Phil gave Techno a shake of the head as they passed, wordlessly bumping his shoulder in an offer of comfort. His smile was sad and and defeated. As Phil settled down for the night, Techno pulled Ranboo to the side. The hybrid boy jumped at his sudden appearance, but said nothing as he settled against the wall.

"What went wrong?" Techno asked a little too eagerly, arms crossed over his chest and nails digging into his palms. Ever perceptive, Ranboo seemed to see through the guise of nonchalance Techno was trying, and _failing_ , to entertain.

The boy shook his head just as Phil had. "Nothing," he admitted. Techno's frown deepened.

"Then what's made Phil like this?" He pressed. 

"It didn't work. We followed the instructions to the tee. All the bloodshed and effort and it just didn't work."

Techno let himself mull it over for a moment. The ritual hadn't been guaranteed to work- in fact, it'd been unlikely to in the first place. Shady sources from water-logged books were their only assurances that the process even existed, and who was to say Dream hadn't modified the server's code to stop it. Yet, Phil had thought it would work, and so he had as well.

"Look," Ranboo sighed, drawing Techno from his thoughts, "I didn't ever know Wilbur when he was alive, let alone before he became the person who- well, the person who Phil doesn't like to talk about. But what I do know is that it's been weighing on Phil and you're probably one of the only people left who understands what he's feeling. So give him space tonight, talk about it tomorrow."

Techno's head craned to the side. He could feel the pit building in his throat as he struggled to find the proper words. 

"He'll be okay. Phil didn't get this far by accepting defeat," he said at last. Ranboo cast him a skeptical glance but nodded. His expression made it clear he had more to say, but kept quiet.

The boy shouldered his bag and returned his helmet to his two-toned hair. "If everything's okay, I'm gonna head out. It's getting dark." He was a flurry as he repacked his items, eyes flickering to the window. Techno followed his gaze and frowned.

Phil's lost softness crept into mind, and Techno huffed. "Stay for the night. It's raining and only gonna get colder."

Ranboo looked between him and the window hesitantly for a moment before letting his bag fall back to the ground.

"Thanks," he smiled. "Are you turning in?"

Techno shook his head. "Not yet, need to get the horses settled before the storm moves in." Ranboo gave another nod.

"Alright, goodnight then," the boy smiled, a bit of his own brightness returning, before he disappeared down the hallway. 

Techno's quiet _goodnight_ went unheard.

___

Carl scuffed his hoof against floor nervously as Techno wrestled with his lead, caught on a jagged piece of fencing that he hadn't gotten around to fixing. The rain fell hard enough that it stung against his face, wind whipping with just as much force as if it was mocking him for even daring to be out in such conditions. He knew the weather had been coming, but not to this extent. 

"You're fine," he murmured as he finally got the lead free and pulled off the Carl's halter. The horse's stall was well made and and at least somewhat insulated by its wooden walls, but even then he felt guilt for leaving him outside for the night. Some day he'd have to ask Phil to build a more formal barn.

He tried not to think of Phil as he slid the stall's door into the latch and whistled his goodbye to the horse.

Following the Butcher Army's attack, Techno had learned the price of keeping what he held dear so close to him. While the temporary paddock remained, Carl's permanent home had been built just on the edge of the forest, close enough to the village that if anyone stumbled upon it they might think it belonged to someone else. The walk from his stall to the house was unpaved, purposefully so, which posed both a strategic advantage and a major inconvenience at present. 

Techno forced himself to keep aware as he trudged through the snow, listening for the pull of a stray's bow or a creeper's hiss. He held his sword, newly recovered, at his side.

A light in the distance offered safety.

He let out a quiet breath of relief and continued on. As he drew closer, he realized that the light was not one of Phil's meticulously placed torches, but a lantern held in hand. The figure was illuminated by the moonlight, hard to discern but almost recognizable. They were too tall to be Phil- perhaps Ranboo? Yet, the boy had made it clear that rain was a death sentence for him.

When the figure finally came into view, Techno froze.

A stray's arrow whistled past, trailing a thin line across his cheek.

"Gotten sloppy, Technoblade?" Wilbur pulled his arm back and an arrow hit its target behind him. The man standing before him gave a confused look as he approached. "What's wrong _Blade?_ "

 _Ghostbur couldn't be out in the rain. Ghostbur would melt._ But Wilbur's curly hair and the dumb beanie and that damned trench coat stood before him, looking entirely real.

"They said it didn't work."

Wilbur gave him an annoyed glance. "Well evidently it did."

Techno pushed down the growing dread that screamed at him to get Phil, get Ranboo, get _anyone._

"And you remember. . ."

"Everything."

The glint in his eye was eerily familiar to the one he'd had the last time they saw each other before Will died. TNT in hand, he'd smiled then.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed! it's a little rough so i might edit later lol. cliffhanger should be updated tomorrow (technically today bc it's 2 am) (im in pain)


End file.
